Sifting through the soot

"2:26 a.m. Virgin Sport cancels planned half marathon: Virgin Sport, which had organized a half marathon to take place in San Francisco this weekend, has canceled the event. Concerns cited include poor air quality due to the fires."

"2:20 a.m. Hospital lines established: Sutter and Kaiser have established phone numbers for the public to find patients who have been evacuated to other facilities. For Sutter, that number is (797) 543-4511. For Kaiser, that number is (855) 599-0033."

Capitol Weekly's ALEX MATTHEWS: "It’s been nearly two weeks since a crucial deadline passed to continue funding for community health centers, the nonprofit facilities that deliver care to the poor and uninsured in California and across the country.

"Now, Congress is still squabbling over the details, advocates are still scrambling to get the funding renewed and the centers are starting to plan for the bottom line."

"In California, the cut is estimated to reach more than $300 million, affecting nearly 300,000 patients, according to a report by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)."

"But when President Trump announced last month that he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, Royce sympathized with “children who have only known America as their home,” and Walters said it would be “unjust to punish them.” Both called on Congress to find a permanent solution for DACA recipients, though neither have signed on to one."

The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID: "Robot cars with no steering wheels, brake pedals or accelerator pedals — and no drivers — could be legal in California by June under updated regulations proposed by the state Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday."

"However, makers of the autonomous cars must certify their safety to federal regulators under standards that are still evolving, so actual deployment is likely to take longer."

"We are excited to take the next step in furthering the development of this potentially life-saving technology in California,” said Brian Kelly, state transportation secretary, in a statement."

The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Despite objections from privacy advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a Bay Area business executive who was convicted of fraud for getting onetime co-workers to download confidential information from the company computer that he then used to start his own firm."

"A federal jury convicted David Nosal, former regional manager of Korn/Ferry International in Redwood City, a prominent executive search firm, in 2013 of six felony charges, including computer fraud, theft of trade secrets and conspiracy."

LA TImes' MARK Z. BARABAK: "There are many paths to the presidency, most of them a standard climb from one elected office to the next."

"A whole passel of lawmakers have cycled their way through a governorship or the U.S. Senate en route to the White House. Others arrived with less buttoned-down backgrounds. There have been war heroes, a former haberdasher, a onetime movie actor."

"A typical facility might be armed with thousands of cameras, which watch gamblers as they enter, while they play and when they leave. The footage is stored as potential evidence and monitored by internal security forces who are prepared to dispatch a response within moments in case of problems."

"“In Vegas, everybody’s gotta watch everybody else,” Robert De Niro said in the 1995 drama “Casino.” Dealers watch the players, pit bosses watch the people watching the dealers, and the “eye in the sky” — the camera — watches overall."

LA Times' TARA PANIOGUE: "Within a week, Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein’s empire has seemingly crumbled to the ground. Fanned by damning investigations by the New York Times and the New Yorker, allegations that the producer and former Weinstein Co. executive has sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women for decades have piled up. It didn’t take long for several celebrities to weigh in on Weinstein’s downfall. Here’s a sampling of some of the responses, which The Times will update as they come in."

EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG/THERESA HARRINGTON: "Special education in California is in “deep trouble,” exacerbated by outmoded concepts and an extreme shortage of fully-prepared teachers, according to Michael Kirst, president of the California State Board of Education."

"Kirst said that the state’s special education system – which serves students with physical, cognitive and learning disabilities – is based on an antiquated model and that it needs “another look."